The piercing chime rang throughout its entire household, yet the golden filly did not put down her paper. Of course, she heard the bell. Who couldn’t? She lived in one of the most expensive houses in all of Ponyville, and yet her parents still refused to fix the doorbell. Every time that accursed bell rang, it yanked everypony's attention to the door just to shut it up.
But this time, Gold Case refused to pay attention to it, even as it continued its infernal blaring. Because she knew who was behind that door, and that pony was not worth her time right now. Not even to stop the ringing.
She most likely would have continued sitting on that couch until the pony behind the door just gave up, but somepony had other plans. Her newspaper was suddenly lifted from her hooves and away from her grasp.
She snapped her head up, growling. “Hey, I was still reading that!”
The elderly stallion in front of her just shook his head sadly, folding the newspaper against his chest. “Miss Gold Case,” he said softly but sternly, “I’m quite sure you know who that is ringing the bell, and I think you should go and greet her.
Gold Case was more annoyed than angry now as she crossed her hooves and put on her best pouting face. “I don’t wanna.”
The stallion sighed as he lightly tossed the folded paper behind him onto a glass coffee table. He was an earth pony, his coat gray yet adorned with several black splotches as a sign of his age. His mane, if one could call it that, was entirely white, uncombed, sticking out every which way in random tufts. Quite frankly, he looked like the textbook definition of old, but his athletic ability was anything but. That was why he kept his job as a butler for as long as he had. It was no small feat to pull anything away from Gold Case. That filly had the grip of an adult Manticore.
The wrinkles on his cheeks sagged as he frowned. “May I advise you that you were the one who invited Miss Tiara over to this house to go out for the day? So it would be quite rude to ignore her, no?”
The filly just rolled her eyes, barely listening to a word the butler said. “Yeah, but who really cares? A whole day with her? She’s tolerable and all, but I don’t want to waste the whole day, know?”
The doorbell rang again. Gold Case was lucky her parents were out, or else they would be screaming louder than the bell room at her to end the horrid sound. Both ponies tried to ignore it, but based on the winces off their faces, it was getting increasingly hard to do so.
“Can’t she take a hint and just go away? How long has she been at it?” Gold Case did her best to speak over the ringing, but she was still afraid her words wouldn’t reach the old pony in front of her. Luckily, he heard it very clearly.
“Miss Gold Case, for the last time, please go to your marefriend!” It was just short of a shout, just enough to get the filly to listen. He had the most experience with the young Case than anypony else, yet he still had no idea what to do when she got like this. Sometimes, all he could do was hope he somehow got through to her. More often than not, he didn’t.
He finally got somewhere in this case, as Gold Case lifted herself off the soft, velvet couch and stood on the polished marble floor. Her muzzle was only inches away from the stallion's chest until she turned around with a huff, and began to walk away.
“Fine, I’ll get the door!” She shouted over her shoulder as the bell’s sound began to fade. “But only to stop that noise!” She turned her head back in front of her and walked out of her living room into her foyer, but not before yelling, “And so you can get off my back!”
The stallion watched her go, a small smile playing on his lips. Take it slow Cobbles. You’ll be able to help her again, just take it slow. Glancing down at the coffee table behind him, he noticed a very thin layer of dust on its glass tabletop. It could do with good dusting. Whistling a random tune, Cobble shuffled out of the room through a different doorway, ready to fetch the duster from the laundry.
Meanwhile, Gold Case hurried down the foyer, her body tense. The sound was finally gone, but for how much longer the silence would stay depended entirely on how fast Gold Case reached her house's large, oak doors.
Finally reaching the double doors, she instantly reached out a hoof and grasped the door's handle, before throwing it open so hard it nearly banged the foyer's walls.
“How many times are you going to ring the damn bell? I heard you the first time!” Gold Case spat at the filly on the porch in front of her. Wait… that wasn’t a fill- no, that’s her size, but what is tha- how… what was she wearing?
Gold Case could identify Diamond Tiara by her lavender and white mane. Besides that, she looked like a complete idiot. She was wearing a big white shirt that was way too big for her, a red Hoofball cap with the initials “PV”, and… was that black grease under her eyes? Ew. To make matters worse, one of her hooves was outstretched, pointing to a spot right next to the doors.
The ridiculous-looking filly snapped her forehoof back under her, yelping in surprise at the sudden arrival of her marefriend. Diamond Tiara opened her mouth to say something, but Gold Case beat her to it.
“What are you wearing? You look ridiculous!” She said, the distaste in her voice clear.
Diamond Tiara backed up a bit, clearly surprised by Gold Case’s anger. She didn’t know how she would react, but certainly not like this.
“W-well, i-it’s Nightmare N-n-night, and, uh, y’know… I wanted to j-just, kinda w-wear a-a costume so I’m g-going as a B-Buckball p-player because-“
Okay, this was getting insufferable. Gold Case stomped out of the doorway and gave the stammering fool her best glare. It worked wonders. Diamond clamped her mouth shut and fixed her gaze down at the white patio below.
As she should. Gold Case's parents spent a lot of money making that patio look nice. Ponies should appreciate it more.
“Buckball? Since when were you interested in… that?”
Instead of giving an answer, Diamond Tiara whimpered softly, shutting her eyes tight as she kept her head down towards the ground.
Gold Case could have done a number of things, and smacking that ridiculous hat off her head was not beneath her. But she realized she needed to calm down. She was scaring her marefriend right now. What would other ponies think of her?
Sighing, Gold Case walked past the quivering filly, tapping lightly on her shoulder as she passed her. Diamond Tiara’s head immediately snapped up, jerking left and right to see who was attacking her.
“Come on,” Gold Case said, trying to keep the annoyance out of her tone. “We’ll go to the park and hang out there for the afternoon. Then we’ll go to that Sugarcube Corner place in the evening. The place looks horrid, but the food there is pretty good.”
Then she heard a whisper behind her. The words were barely audible, but she could make out one word that told her all: ‘candy.’
Turning at once, Gold Case glared once again at Diamond Tiara. Even though her back was turned towards her, Gold Case knew Diamond could feel her glare burning holes in her head.
“What did you just say?” Gold Case sneered. Candy. Seriously? What, was she five? Diamond needed to grow up, especially since her family was just as rich as hers. She had a reputation to maintain.
Gold Case waited for an answer, but all she got were a few whimpers, until finally, Gold Case could make out a “Nothing,” so soft she wouldn’t have heard it if she wasn’t waiting for Diamond to speak.
“Thought so,” Gold Case said, her lips stretching in a small smile. She began descending the patio's steps and onto the road. “Now come on, love. We’ll have a great time together. I’ll even let you wear your costume. It’ll be a blast.
Why not make the most of this day? If Cobbles was going to force her outside, she might as well have fun. She wondered if the stock ponies were in the park, enjoying their lunch. It was worth a shot. Without looking back, Gold Case began walking in the direction of the town park.
The patio steps creaked as a pony slowly descended down them. Wiping at her eyes, she felt she had no choice but to follow.
-
A bumblebee and an oddly shaped banana waited at the gates of Sweet Apple Acres for their friend.
Of course, the banana was not a banana at all, and I would argue with you until the end of time to clarify that. Indeed, the original inspiration for the outfit was Tracy Yellowhat, a grizzled detective who solved mysteries every week in the Stories Weekly comic book. Every Yellowhat- as his fans so proudly called themselves- was infatuated with the bright yellow trench coat he wore, complimenting the equally yellow fedora with a black stripe along the top.
So yes, in theory, the banana was actually a fictional detective adored by many. However, the wearer forgot the most important part: the dark yellow color of Tracy Yellowhat's garments. Instead, she asked Rarity to make it with “the best yellow you have.” Without any further foundation to build upon, Rarity made the dress with her favorite yellow. She only realized the mistake once the excited filly tried it on, and no amount of passive-aggressive comments – “It looks grand darling, but I think it could look even better if I made some extra touches'”– could fix it.
So now, the filly looked like a banana, and the way-too-thin black stripe only further cemented the picture.
It was also a frustrated banana.
“Why is she taking so long? We’ve been here for hours!”
“It’s been half an hour,” the bumblebee replied bluntly.
“Exactly, that’s what I said.”
“It’s not.”
“Whatever,” the banana said with a roll of its eyes. “I just wish she was ready. We got a whole adventure awaiting us.”
“Well, there’s no reason to rush her. We’ve got the whole day until we have to follow the notebook.”
The banana shook her head. “I’m not talking about that. I’m talking about trick or treating!”
The bumblebee, for just one second, wanted to die. “Fine Scootaloo. Whatever.”
Scootaloo shrugged. “Okay Sweetie Belle, be like that. You won’t be getting much candy with that attitude.”
It was only noon, so there wouldn’t be many houses ready with candy anyways; that was for the night when all the little fillies and colts really felt like they were walking in a fun, sweet nightmare. Of course, that wasn’t what was waiting for the three fillies with the book. They would have to be at Sugarcube Corner to throw an Apple clean at Rainbow Dash’s face, a pony who wasn’t even in Ponyville at the moment.
Sweetie Belle knew this was all terribly absurd, and she should by all accounts be tearing apart all the details to look for the hidden meaning. Who was behind this book? Why Applejack and Rainbow Dash? Why them?
Sweetie Belle knew it was normal to obsess over these things, and normally she would stay awake for a full week to hunt down these answers. However, for some reason Sweetie Belle herself didn’t know, she didn’t have that urge now. The only thing she was concerned about was following the book, and all questions that surrounded that topic were inexplicably ignored. It felt good though, Sweetie Belle thought, to take something at surface level. It was a lot less stressful that way.
Sweetie Belle was thinking about this when she spotted Apple Bloom walking out of the house up on the hill. She couldn’t really see any of her friends' features from her current position, but she could see the barest outline of a bow on the back of her head.
“Hey Scootaloo, Apple Bloom’s coming.”
“Wha.”
“Apple Bloom’s coming, you moron,” Sweetie Belle hissed.
“Okay geez, sorry. I just wasn’t paying attention.”
“You never do.”
Sweetie Belle expected a biting retort that would launch the two into a long and senseless argument, but it didn’t happen. Scootaloo was staring at the approaching Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle saw the corners of Scootaloo’s mouth stretched down into a frown, but the unicorn didn’t know what for. Then she looked up.
Coming down the hill was not a vampire, a scarecrow, or a bumblebee. Not even a banana detective. It was just Apple Bloom, looking like Apple Bloom did every day, besides those saddle bags she had firmly strapped on her sides.
“Hey, girls!” Apple Bloom called out to them cheerfully as she approached the gate. “Ah got everything we need in these bags right here, so we should be all set to go.”
Apple Bloom's hoof started to open the gate until she finally caught the shocked expressions of both her friends. All movement stopped.
“Uh, girls? Did ah do somethin’ wrong?” Given no answer, she slid through the crack in the open gate and closed it gently behind her. “Ah’m sorry ah didn’t apologize for that whole mess at Sugarcube Corner yet. Ah’ve been busy all week, and ah guess ah’ve just been kinda out of it.”
“You’re naked,” the other two said in unison. This sudden statement startled Apple Bloom so much she actually took a step back as if she were facing down two hungry lions.
“What?”
“Where’s you’re costume?” Scootaloo replied. She lowered the brim of her hat over her eyes, apparently in the belief that this would make her seem more intimidating. “It’s Nightmare Night. Wearing a costume is, like, a rule!”
“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle piped in. “You’ll look silly compared to all the other fillies and colts just like that.”
“We couldn’t find one that fit me,” Apple Bloom replied quite simply. “My last costume was too tight, and we didn’t have time to go out to town and get something. So Applejack just told me to go out and have fun.” She flashed an uneasy smile. “Isn’t having fun all that matters?”
Sweetie Bell returned the smile, her features softening. “Of course Apple Blo-“
“No!” Scootaloo wasn’t quite as forgiving. “You need a costume. Heck, anything can be a costume if you try hard enough. You can stuff yourself inside a potato sack and go as a… a potato sack!”
“A potato sack?” Apple Bloom glanced at Sweetie Belle, who was doing her very best not to fall on the ground laughing.
“Yes!” Scootaloo said, excitement rising in her voice. Her eyes shone as her mind rushed with the possibility of a potato sack-themed costume.
“That’s stupid,” Apple Bloom replied bluntly.
Scootaloo frowned as her enthusiasm dissipated. She kicked away a lone pebble. “Yeah well, you may call it stupid, but I call it creative.”
Apple Bloom just rolled her eyes as she started to make her way down the road to town. “Alright, come on ponies.” Everything was remarkably silent, save for the clinking of her saddlebags.
She almost left the entire orchard before she looked back to find her friends still standing near the fence, giving each other a serious look.
“Hey girls, you coming?”
The bumblebee and banana looked at each other with a shared expression of worry, then nodded before they began trotting up to Apple Bloom.
It was at that moment that Apple Bloom suddenly felt a strong sense of guilt that she couldn’t quite shake off. She couldn’t find the chance to tell her friends about Applejack- she was too busy helping at the farm. Now they were right there in front of her, and what a perfect chance to tell them right here, right now.
Apple Bloom held her tongue when they stopped at her side.
“Are you sure you want to do this Apple Bloom?” Sweetie Belle asked.
Say something.
Apple Bloom attempted a smile, and it unsurprisingly sucked. “Of course, girls. Ah’m just tired, that's all.” She nodded to her own excuse and began trekking down the path once again. This time, her friends followed.
Apple Bloom mentally kicked herself for her fib. Some other time, she told herself. Just not now.
There were things to do.
-
It was a surprise to no one other than Scootaloo that nopony else was trick or treating. At the first house, the mare that showed up at the door just gave an annoyed expression and told the Crusaders to leave her alone. The second house just threw breath mint at them. So, despite Scootaloo’s harshest curses, the three made a trip over to Bon Bon’s confectionery and brought some delicious, homemade candy to hold them over.
Where they were going now was anypony’s guess.
“I say we get some Ice Cream,” Scootaloo said as she vigorously sucked on a lemon drop.
“Yeah, but then I’d have to go back to the Boutique to grab some extra bits.”
“Okay, then go. We’ll wait.”
Sweetie Belle rolled her eyes. “Whatever you want, my queen.”
“Okay, fine. Be that way. Let’s all starve then.”
“Scootaloo, we already have all this candy. Curb your sweet tooth with that.”
“Okay, fine. So we don’t have to go anywhere to eat. So where do we go?”
Sweetie Belle shrugged. “I don’t know. Where do you think we should go, Apple Bloom?” she asked, craning her head back to look at her silent friend.
Apple Bloom seemed neither here nor there. She kept her head bent low, and her eye focused on the ground. It was a wonder she wasn't bumping into every pony and wall down the street.
Sweetie Belle sighed, as she turned her gaze back to her front. “Yeah, thought so. Let’s just walk around a little more. I’m sure we’ll find something to do.”
Scootaloo groaned. “Yeah, great. Let’s just wander around. I bet that’ll do wonders.”
-
Despite what Scootaloo sarcastically predicted, wandering around town did not, in fact, do any wonders. Thirty minutes had passed, and the fillies had walked at least a mile now, and yet they still had no idea what to do. Scootaloo had almost committed thievery by picking up a bit-pouch a passing pony had dropped, but Apple Bloom had held her back as Sweetie Belle nobly returned the pouch to its owner. Worst yet, they were even farther from the Boutique now than they had been before, a fact that Sweetie Belle made more than sure to point out to Scootaloo.
They had stopped at the Ponyville Park and Gardens so that Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle could take some time to yell their heads off at each other. Apple Bloom took this time to get some much-needed relaxation.
Ponyville Park and Gardens may have been the nicest looking part of all of Ponyville, which was saying a lot. The officials of Ponyville made sure to make the most out of the town's close proximity to the barren yet picturesque countryside of Southern Equestria. So what better way to showcase this awesome natural beauty to the world than to build a park for all to enjoy? From the large, looming trees adorned with leaves that were just beginning to change color to the ponds whose surfaces were so clear and reflective that they could have just as well been glass. Even the constant birdsong overhead never got old. It only added to the perfect serenity of it all.
Apple Bloom adored the park, a love that was passed down from her big sister. She vividly remembered the picnics she’d have with Applejack here on the weekends. She’d watch the nature around her, in between bites of daffodil sandwich and sips of apple cider, with the awe and wonder common in young foals. Apple Bloom would give anything to return to that time when everything was calm, and nothing was wrong.
That’s why Apple Bloom walked away from her bickering friends to one of the many ponds that populated the park. She stood only a step away from the water, staring down at her perfect reflection. The harder she stared at herself, the more she felt relaxed until she felt like she was in another world entirely. Gone were the sounds of ponies playing and arguing. Apple Bloom couldn’t even hear the gentle wind anymore. There was complete silence between her and the reflection.
For the first time in a long while, Apple Bloom felt truly alone, and if she could keep the loneliness forever, maybe she would. There she was, calm underneath the water, with no ripples or waves to disturb her. Apple Bloom, the real Apple Bloom, the tangible being that sat on the edge of this pond in a daze, felt dirty somehow. Dirty in a way the reflection wasn’t. Apple Bloom leaned her head closer to the water, and maybe if she just looked closer, she would have solved something. But instead, she felt something brush past her fur, and just like that, she snapped out of her moment of reflection, and the her in the water looked no different than the real her was. Dirtiness and all.
Slowly, Apple Bloom craned her neck upward and looked for the source of the contact. She didn’t have to look far; Diamond Tiara sat only a few inches away, her head bent to the ground and wearing a neutral expression.
Apple Bloom supposed she should have been more shocked to see her, but she didn’t. She felt as if she talked to her just the other day. She didn’t even seem to worry too much about the strange, sport-like uniform that she wore.
“Hey,” Apple Bloom said softly.
“Hey,” replied Diamond Tiara. She didn’t move. “I didn’t think I’d see you here.”
Apple Bloom shrugged. “Me and the Crusaders were just passing through. Nice costume by the way. Buckball?”
Diamond Tiara nodded, and Apple Bloom could see the start of a smile tug at the filly’s lips. “Yeah, I’ve been getting into it recently. I went to one of the games a few months ago and I’ve just been hooked.” She chuckled. “I know you probably didn’t expect me to be into something like that.”
“Can’t say ah ever would’ve guessed that buckball would be something you’d fancy. So, what brings you to the park?”
Apple Bloom noticed Daimond’s face dropped just a bit at that question. “Oh, um, Gold Case brought me here. Then we recognized your friends, so I decided to introduce them to her. Then I wanted to go find you.”
Apple Bloom nodded. “So I’m supposin’ she’s up on the hill talkin’ mah friend's ears off?”
“Yeah, I’d guess so. By the way, Gold Case isn’t just my friend. She’s…well…”
Apple Bloom raised a hoof to cut her off. “Ah know.”
Diamond Tiara sighed a breath of relief, and she smiled. “Oh, thank Celestia. I don’t know why but I always find it so hard to tell ponies that.”
“Yeah, ah get that.”
“Everything is going well ah hope?”
Diamond Tiara shrugged. “Yeah, I guess. School’s easy, and the weather is nice. Nothing much to complain about.”
“I was asking about you and Gold Case.”
“Oh. I mean… yeah I guess everything’s great between us. She’s great, you know? Just great. She’s very patient with me.”
It was an obvious lie, Apple Bloom could tell. Even if Diamond’s hushed delivery and darting of her eyes weren’t obvious clues, the information Silver Spoon told her pretty much confirmed that Diamond Tiara was hiding the truth.
“Ah get it if you don’t want to tell me, but if there’s somethin’ wrong, I’d like to try to help you.”
Diamond Tiara fell silent at that and turned her head away. Apple Bloom sighed. “Diamond, ah’d like for you to tell me how things are really going with Gold Case.”
Diamond Tiara sighed and rubbed at her own shoulder. “I’m being serious! Everything’s just fine with me and Gold Case. Sure we may have problems here and there, but that’s just normal!”
“If you’re having problems with Gold Case, you should try and talk about them. Ah would be more than happy to listen.”
“They’re not even worth talking about. It’s no big deal. I appreciate what you’re trying to do but… I just don’t want to go over it right now.”
Apple Bloom wanted to press further but stopped herself. If Diamond wanted to set up a boundary about her marefriend, then it was up to her to respect it. “Okay, ah understand. If you ever want to talk about it–”
“Yeah, yeah,” she mumbled with a roll of her head. Apple Bloom noticed her gaze was concentrated on her reflection in the lake. Apple Bloom chuckled and looked at her own reflection.
“Well ah guess this is still nice, right? Just looking at our reflections like this in our own silence. It’s kinda nice to spend this moment with you.”
Diamond Tiara’s reflection smiled softly at that last part and Apple Bloom watched Diamond Tiara shuffle just a smidge closer to her. Apple Bloom couldn’t help but smile back and just then, she felt an unfamiliar warmness in her muzzle that came from a feeling she couldn’t find the words to describe. It at least seemed okay. She let the feeling get stronger, and she watched in the lake as Diamond get closer and closer. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath in, unable to shake that content smile, and she grew restless with anticipation of a new bliss waiting for her. Diamond just had to get a little closer…
Then she heard a few twigs crack behind her sounding as loud as a firecracker in this quiet moment. With a startled gasp, Applejack turned to look behind her
Approaching them was a golden filly with a tightly brushed copper mane that shone slightly in the afternoon sun. She also appeared without a costume, wearing instead an arrogant smirk paired with a walk that just screamed: “upper-class.” Apple Bloom didn’t recognize this filly, yet by Diamond Tiara’s embarrassed expression, she could put a name on this intruder.
“Yo, DT! Don’t tell me you thought you could get away so easily.” She chuckled as she loomed over Diamond Tiara and gave her a fierce noogie. Diamond murmured something that may have been a protest but yet did nothing. Gold Case suddenly seemed to notice Apple Bloom for the first time. Her smirk became a tight-lipped frown as she sat up and looked at the country filly with a hoff under her chin, like she was some fine art piece she didn’t quite understand.
“Have I seen you before?”
Apple Bloom stammered. “Uh no, no actually ah don’t believe we have.”
“Oh.”
Apple Bloom nodded and tried to think of something to say to possibly save this meeting from careening into the pit of awkwardness. “Ah’m Apple Bloom.”
“I didn’t ask.”
“Oh.”
It was futile. The meeting was bound to be awkward from the get-go and the three could only stare at each other, waiting for the conversation to die.
“Well, I hope you gave this lil sweetie a good conversation! This one likes to wander. And talk.”
Apple Bloom nodded. “Yeah, we had a real nice conversation.”
“Good. That’s good. I talked to your friends back there. They’re a real hoot, especially that orange pegasus. Now that one has a sense of humor.”
“Scootaloo? Yeah, she’s a riot that one.”
“You got that right. Oh hey, you said your name was Apple Bloom? So are you related to the apples over in that farm?”
Apple Bloom nodded and cracked a prideful smile. Ha-ha! Finally, some genuine respect!
“You always have that lame festival thing at your farm, right? Always thought that was super lame, no offense. We’ll pass.”
Oh.
“Ha! Only busting your chops! I like you. I like to see someone who also ditches the stupid costumes.”
“Oh, ah just didn’t have time to pick one out.”
“Riiiiiight.”
“No, I’m serious.”
“Suuuuuure. Stay humble, I like that. Well, I think me and my filly are gonna head out. Maybe we’ll catch you sometime later.” Yet even with that cheery goodbye, Apple Bloom still felt as if they weren’t equal. Gold Case had an arrogant aura around her that intimidated her even if she was just being ‘nice.’ She saw Diamond Tiara and her face fell. Diamond looked… sad behind those eyes and forced a smile. Apple Bloom remembered when Diamond Tiara was like that. Scarily similar, actually. So Apple Bloom couldn’t process how Diamond could run back into someone like that when she was trying so hard to change?
Gold Case wheeled Diamond Tiara around and walked away. Apple Bloom watched them go and expected some final glance from Diamond Tiara, anything that would tell her something more. There was nothing.
She heard a voice that she knew belonged to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo behind her, and she turned around to meet her friends climbing down the hill. Both fillies seemed to be quite lively, and Apple Bloom tried to match their energy with an energetic wave.
“Apple Bloom! Imagine leaving your friends all alone to sulk. Couldn’t be me.” Scootaloo chuckled and flung a shoulder around her friend. Apple Bloom’s shallow enthusiasm seemed to work on the fillies as neither one seemed to sense anything was wrong. “Did you meet Gold Case?”
Apple Bloom nodded. “Yeah.”
Scootaloo grinned and chuckled to herself. “Let me tell you, that’s a filly who knows a good joke.”
Sweetie Bell rolled her eyes. “Oh please. Crudeness does not equal comedy.”
Scootaloo scoffed and waved the complainer off. “Oh please, you wouldn’t know what comedy was if it smacked you in the face.” Sweetie Belle simply stuck her tongue out, and Scootaloo took that to mean her surrender. Turning back towards Apple Bloom with a dumb grin and newfound pride, she said, “Anyway, we saw Diamond Tiara too but she just wandered off, just like you. Did you talk to her?”
Apple Bloom nodded. “I did.”
“Oh, neat. Well, what’d you two gals talk about?”
It was a question that Apple Bloom found trouble answering. She couldn’t ignore the fact that there was something strange about their encounter, though she was unsure why. It was the way Diamond Tiara looked at her with that small smile, and how their muzzles were practically touching. The simple words exchanged between the two held more power than at the surface. Apple Bloom knew this for sure, but the power that was there was too unfamiliar to her to properly put into words. She could only hope that she’d figure out what was happening to her sometime soon. For now, she just didn’t know.
So with a sigh, Apple Bloom muttered just a single word: “Nothing.”
–
Applejack was tired. This was normal.
Nightmare Night was always a busy holiday for her, busier than most. She had to buck how many trees for barrels of apple cider and trays of fritters, not to mention the rows of bobbing for apple games and that damned hedge maze they had to get trimmed every year. It broke her back, puffed out her eyes, and made her hooves ache. At the end of it all, Applejack was quite frankly sick of everything.
Though it was worth it, it would always be worth it, because the town depended on her work. Now, sitting on her porch with a tall glass of Iced Apple Cider beside her, she could watch the whole town of Ponyville collectively line up outside her gates.
She sighed heavily as she looked behind her at the presently empty house; Big Mac was in front of the gates keeping order in the line, Granny Smith was out inspecting the hedge maze, and Apple Bloom was somewhere out in town with her friends.
She looked back out at her orchard and all the trees that now stood bare. Their fruits were now in barrels, ready to be broken and poured into eager ponies’ cups. The ponies in question were getting louder, letting loose yelps of excitement. Applejack caught eyes with Big Macintosh and gave him the big okay with a nod. Nodding back, Big Macintosh undid the ropes closed the gates, and allowed the sea of ponies to storm inside.
When all those ponies were clustered together like that, it was hard to spot any sort of individuality. Nearly the whole town had converged into one mass hungry for cider and games, and it was all up to the Apples to provide that for them. Even in that crowd, Applejack knew certain ponies to be crowded in there. Yet the only pony she really cared about being there, wasn’t.
Applejack shook that thought out of her head. Okay, so what if Rainbow Dash was in Canterlot for Nightmare Night? Was she moving there? Was she going to cut off all contact with her? No, absolutely not. After the night is over, Rainbow would come back to Ponyville, and then it’d be just her outside those gates.
Until then Applejack would make herself wait. Patience was as much a virtue as honesty, and she intended to master it. Getting up from her spot on the porch, Applejack decided the only way to truly get Rainbow out of her mind was to get to work. She started to stretch and noticed her bare hooves. Right, she needed to get her costume on. She’d been distracted more than usual this time around, so she’d have to reuse one of her old ones. She was thinking her scarecrow outfit would do just fine. Not that it really mattered anyway.
She took one last look at the crowd of ponies, now scattering throughout the orchard and a sizable portion of them walking up the path to the house, towards the cider stand. Applejack sighed and entered the farmhouse. She had to hurry. There was work to do.
–
Never in her life had Rainbow Dash wanted to fly less than tonight. This was preposterous, she knew. Even traitorous to her own ego. In less than an hour, she would be flying in an arena in front of thousands of excited ponies with the princesses themselves watching. Meanwhile, she’d be one of the stars of the show, responsible for the final spectacle, the Sonic Rainboom that would illuminate the night sky above Canterlot with all the colors of the rainbow.
It was her life to bask in the showmanship of her actions and to play it all with supreme pride and confidence. She’d ignore everything else just to show off for one moment, one jaw-dropping moment for everypony else to gawk at. But now, she was sitting in the Wonderbolts locker room alone, her uniform crumpled up in her hooves, and she could only think of her.
She’s just some mare! That was what her younger self would say, the Rainbow Dash before Wonderbolts. Back when she had something to prove. When she only cared about the applause and cheers from the awestruck ponies watching her tricks, with no emotional distinction between her and the fans. So why couldn’t she stop thinking about this single goddamn mare?
Because it was Applejack.
That was why, despite how tough Rainbow Dash tried to act, she couldn’t concentrate on the show. Because Applejack, of all ponies, said she like her. Not once did Dash ever think she’d ever admit anything so intimate, and yet last week Aj said exactly that. Now what, she was supposed to go back to flying like nothing had happened? Like they couldn’t have a date right now if they just had time? Stupid life doing stupid things. Rainbow never understood why she always had to get the short end of the stick when it came to luck.
She didn’t even want to put on this damn uniform either. To wear this uniform was to be a Wonderbolt. But Rainbow didn't feel like a Wonderbolt right now. Could she even perform the Sonic Rainboom out there? Would she get booed? Sacked from the Wonderbolts? Live the rest of her life depressed and a recluse in a secluded wooden shack with a diet of nothing but microwaveable dinners? Oh, but then she could have Applejack… wait, no! Applejack would never go for her if she was like that! She’ll kick her to the side like trash. She was doomed. Doomed! Dooooooooo–
“DASH! What in Tartarus is taking you so long?”
Rainbow’s heart shot out of her damn chest and her uniform fell to the floor in a sad heap. Even in her shocked state, Rainbow recognized that gruff and aggressive voice from anywhere.
“Spitfire!” Rainbow collected herself quickly and collected her uniform off of the floor to save some face. “I’m sorry ma’am! I lost track of time.”
“Lost track of time my flank! You’ve been moping around practice for the last two weeks and making the rest of the team look like amateurs. I swear to Celestia, if you mess up tonight, I’ll have you running laps until your wings fall off!”
Even from across the room, Spitfire’s voice had the volume of a megaphone. It was terrifying. “N-no, ma’am. I mean, I’ll do fine, trust me! I got it all figured out! You can call me Reliable Rainbow tonight, I promise you that! Everything is under control!”
Spitfire gave her a stare like she’d chew into her again, but finally dropped it and just sighed like she didn’t have time for any of this. “Dash, look, whatever you have going on, just save it for later, okay? You’ll have time to settle it out, but we need you now. So I want to see you out with the rest of the team in five and I expect you to pull the greatest Sonic Rainboom the world has ever seen. Then you have my permission to mope around.” Without waiting for an answer, Spitfire barged out of the room and once again, Rainbow was left alone.
Rainbow knew Spitfire was right. Her head needed to be in the game now. She had ponies out there depending on her. Sure, she didn’t know them, but she owed them all the same. Applejack had to wait for later. Though as Rainbow finally relented and slid her uniform over herself, she couldn’t help but think that, by some miracle, something could go wrong. Something completely unrelated to the Wonderbolts themselves, but would still affect the show, like a power outage or a stadium malfunction. Then it could be canceled, and Rainbow could get to Ponyville early in the night and have hours upon hours of valuable conversation with Applejack. Yes, it was a stupid thought. Maybe even cruel. Yet Rainbow Dash couldn’t stop thinking about it.
She flipped the goggles over her eyes and did her routine stretches. She’d do her best to put on a great show, but she couldn’t help but hope for something to go wrong.